Coronation of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra

Scene from Britain's first ever filmed coronation

Edward VII was the first British monarch to be crowned in the age of moving images - though another half- century would pass before any film camera caught the moment of crowning itself. This film of the Coronation Day parade, on 9 August 1902, is the first of two shots taken from the same camera position for the British Mutoscope and Biograph Company. It gives us crisp, clear images of the military great and good - thanks to the large-format 68mm film stock - but it's the second shot, not this one, that includes a glimpse of the King in his carriage.

Edward had been on the throne for over a year and a half by the time of the Coronation, which was originally scheduled for 26 June, but had to be postponed when Edward was struck down with appendicitis.